The Famous Family Nakhleh of Byblos

In the years between 1840 and 1860 the Lebanese mountain region of the Shouf was the scene of a horrible tragedy as a result of the interference of the Western Powers. There were 20,000 people killed, 360 villages destroyed, and 560 churches devastated, thanks also to the incompetence of the Ottoman authorities. An international protocol was drawn up and applied which guaranteed peace. It was against this background that on June 8th, in the church of St. Elijah (Elias) in Antelias that Lebanon profited from the calm to set up a center for reflection.

Antelias is a coastal town built around a small torrent which rises from Fowar, the “Deaf” or the “Jet”, in the prehistoric caves where once lived the Neanderthal Man of Antelias. Here one could find orange, lemon and mulberry trees stretching as far as the eye could see, with a large square in front of the church where fishermen coming up from the sea nearby would sell their catch.

In this place on June 8th all the chiefs and administrators of Mount Lebanon were assembled. It should be remembered that in those days one could move about only on foot, on donkey-back or on horseback.
Despite the Ottoman occupation and the Egyptian invasion by the troops of Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mehemet Ali, founder of the Egyptian royal dynasty, people enjoyed a certain peace of mind, for all were believers in God and were attached to their country and desirous of freedom. Yussef esh-Shantiri, Abu Samra Ghanem, Ahmed Dagher and such personalities were popular leaders among all the communities. They swore fidelity and solidarity on the altar of this Maronite Christian sanctuary of Antelias.

Among this crowd come from all over Lebanon there were dignitaries, volunteers, and bold patriots. There were also two brothers who devoted themselves to the public welfare, helping everybody without distinction. They were well off, possessing much property in the form of streets, villages, farms, buildings, and extensive fields, and in particular a very large residence built by an Italian architect who had been passing through Byblos-Jbeil, their fief. They were named with biblical names, Ayoub (Job) Nakhleh, the elder, and Ibrahim Nakhleh, the younger.

The two “Begs” came from Byblos-Jbeil and had come to Antelias out of an excess of enthusiasm, out of love for Lebanon, and out of aspirations for freedom, independence and democracy as well as out of curiosity about the evolution of every detail of the situation. Their forebears had come from Barouk high in the Shouf region, in the heart of the mountains, and they had been witnesses of all the injustices committed by the Sublime Porte in regard to the Christians. They were by no means fanatic or narrow-minded but rather were capable, well-disposed, active, amiable and believers in communal harmony among all. Their ancestors had become wealthy thanks to their energy and their activity in several fields. These included silk production, agriculture and exchanges and commerce through their agents at Marseilles and Barcelona. One of the family, a secular priest, had traveled much in Europe, after which he urged the others to acquire science, culture and languages. The family settled in the city of Byblos in the Jbeil region and there acquired a reputation as benefactors and rich patrons of the arts and crafts. They helped the poverty-stricken and encouraged education, development and various industries. Their principle was to do good and to show love of their neighbor. They had many friends and their house was a refuge and haven of calm and peace. They were hospitable, generous, helpful and practicing Christians, religious in the real meaning of the word.

As for Ayoub, he attended Holy Mass every morning in the church of St. John Mark, prestigious relic of the Crusaders, a kilometer away from his home, even though he had built a chapel at the very entrance of his home. It was up to the Beg (squire) to set a good example, Ayoub always said. In the church he always sat on the extreme right. The people who surrounded the Nakhlehs belonged to every religious confession and in Jbeil-Byblos many Muslims attended and even served Mass, for there was a general spirit of brotherhood.

During the civil war in the Shouf mountains between 1840 and 1860 the people of Byblos remained firmly united and avoided any belligerence. They formed one big family, knowing one another and ready to help one another. Now these conflicts in the Shouf led to a new form of government in Mount Lebanon.

After a long debate between the Western consuls and the Sublime Porte intended to put an end to the strife, it was decided to nominate a Christian administrator, one not Lebanese but with all the faculties necessary to govern and apply the law. He was called Mutassaref.

In order to put an end to the massacres, Emperor Napoleon III of France sent an army to Lebanon and this force was accompanied by a scientific mission. For the cultural sphere as for the social and military purposes, historians, researchers, authors, archeologists, and orientalists accompanied the military. The whole East, Lebanon, Syria, Jerusalem and what is now Iraq saw an invading army of specialists studying various sites, shedding light on historical facts, disinterring ancient cities, and bringing to light civilizations of antiquity, famous but of which there had been no visible trace.

The French Archeological Mission led by the eminent Ernest Renan arrived one fine morning at the same time as the troops of the French contingent. Its aim was to find remains of ancient Phoenicia, to whose city of Byblos references were constantly found by archeologists working in Egypt. The ruins of great towns were known to exist some meters underground. The Ottomans, now alerted to the question, were also looking for Byblos, which they believed to be some ten kilometers south of the present town. It is thanks to Renan that the area to be dug was correctly estimated along the Lebanese coast, followed by others in the Beqaa Valley, with the temples of Baalbek-Heliopolis, and in the mountains.

This research mission of 1860-1861 was received with open arms by Ayoub Nakhleh Beg and by other dignitaries of Amsheet, Ghazir, Jbeil and elsewhere. For several centuries the Lebanese had had a weakness for France, which they considered to be their best ally, as a mother full of tenderness and care.

Now one saw archeologists, draftsmen, diggers, topographers, in fact a whole team busy at work. Renan and the other investigating orientalists knew the ancient Semitic languages well, Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew and Phoenician. All the members of the Mission adjusted themselves to the daily life of the Maronites with their moral concepts, habits, customs, meals, and ceremonies. An excellent friendship was the result.

The two literary achievements of Renan were written in Mount Lebanon, his Mission en Phénicie and above all his Vie de Jésus, followed by the history of Christianity, the Acts of the Apostles, and so on. The Vie de Jésus went into twelve prints in its very first year, one each month, with 1,300,000 copies, at that time an unprecedented success.

Previously, the town of Byblos-Jbeil had belonged to the powerful personalities of Amsheet. Byblos was in effect theirs. The farmers, peasants and laborers worked on the farms of Byblos, renting from, or in association with, the owners in Amsheet. These hardy sharecroppers were honest, enterprising and active; they took their share of the profits that they deserved.

In Kessrouan, Ftouh and elsewhere in Mount Lebanon these tough peasants had no property of their own but finally rose up against the Sheikhs, the great landowners, for the latter looked down on them as serfs, barely human beings, and took every advantage of them. Following the revolt in 1858-1861 the land was divided up among the peasants, who also acquired other rights and privileges. Now a new concept of the social order took form, with individualism and freedom of action and decision-making and a better distribution of wealth. Evolution, development and emancipation became the order of the day.

The one and only family of Jbeil itself which held private property was the Nakhleh family, who had originally come from Barouk in the Shouf. It was only in the eighteenth century, around 1740, that some other families began to own some plots of land, houses or shops.

At the great Nakhleh residence, surrounded by extensive gardens, dozens of employees were at work, including cooks, gardeners, builders, and guards. Because of the services they rendered, their ready help, their care, and their generosity to all and sundry, the Nakhlehs were held in high esteem and looked up to by the inhabitants of the whole Byblos region.

Dr. Joachim Nakhleh, leading light, learned doctor and mayor of Byblos, had personnel specially for his receptions. There was a team to present narguilehs (hookahs, water pipes), meals and refreshments to his numerous guests and his visitors who came in droves every hour of the day and night. Particularly after the Ottoman Protocol inaugurated the rule of the Mutassaref in 1860 there were rapturous evenings on the terrace under the vine branches near the water well, in serene surroundings with an atmosphere of peace, frankness and sincere friendship between Lebanese.

When in 1860 Ernest Renan came to Byblos to define the area of the diggings for his research on Phoenicia, he obtained permission from the families of Amsheet who had property near the sea, such as the Zakhias and the Karams. In those days the zone to be investigated near the sea did not belong to the State but to individuals, mainly rich ones. Renan and the others of the French Mission put up sometimes at Dr. Ayoub’s’s house in Byblos and sometimes at the Zakhias’ of Amsheet.

Later on the nobles of Amsheet began to sell their property to their peasants and sharecroppers, so now all Byblos is the property of its own inhabitants. From being a small market agglomeration Byblos has now become a town with a modern infrastructure in the form of wide roads, hospitals, schools, branches of universities, commercial and financial facilities, and museums. It is one of the most ancient and at the same time most beautiful cities in all Lebanon.

In 1861 in the house of Ayoub Beg a nephew named Wakim was born, the son of Ibrahim the brother of Ayoub. The birth was received with joy and much celebration. As was usual on such an occasion, boiled moghlie was offered around, a dessert composed of flour, rice and various spices and decorated with almonds, nuts and raisins. Large quantities were prepared and sent to neighbors, relatives, friends and orphans.

The baptism took place a few days after the birth and what godfather could the child have more illustrious than the great Ernest Renan? The ceremony took place in the church of St. John Mark, where Renan himself carried the infant, who was given the biblical name of Joachim (Wakeem), the father of the Virgin Mary.

The baby was admired and made a fuss of in all Byblos, while among those present at the baptism were the relatives and friends of Ayoub, including the Abbot Superior of the Order of Lebanese Monks, then known as the Baladites, and several other monks including ones who had personally known Saints Sharbel, Rafqa and Hardini.

Being quite elderly, Ayoub considered himself to be the father-figure of the nation, intimately tied to all the region of Byblos. His hobbies were to plant trees and to improve the environment; there was no unemployment as there is now and everybody was at work, craftsmen, stock-raisers and farmers. In those days a milk goat would support a family, while a cow, a donkey or a mule was a working capital.

In this period of Ottoman rule an occupation existed called mecari, which consisted of transporting goods on the backs of donkeys – wood, bags, sand, stones or faggots. The donkey was the most practical method of transport and every year Ayoub Beg would offer some fifty goats and little donkeys very discreetly to people in need – a goat with its kid or kids would soon lead to the existence of a small flock in two or three years. Donkeys were the taxis of those days. The excessive generosity of the Beg caused him much concern. He was troubled whenever a family was suffering. He was more than an ordinary man, rather a man of God living a truly Christian life among his fellows. Many tales are told about his open-handedness, his love, and his self-sacrifice. He could not bear to see young lads hanging about the squares or the roads. He would call them to ask them what they did, for example helping their fathers in the fields. If they said they did nothing, he would suggest putting them to work with a carpenter, cobbler, tailor, blacksmith, builder or tradesman. He had no patience with laziness or lack of purpose in life. He would even ask a boy if he felt he had a vocation so he could help him enter a monastery.

At that time girls were not generally sent to school with nuns; they helped in their homes with all the different jobs, carrying water, milking the livestock, sewing, and so on. Often they were married off while still very young. The modern means of female employment did not yet exist; there were no hairdressers, estheticians, nurses or pastry cooks.

Ayoub Beg was no intellectual or profound thinker. He was simply a religious believer, a good father, a Lorenzo the Magnificent, whose generosity knew no bounds. The people of the region of Byblos were his family and he got his ideas from those among them who were monks or who traveled abroad. He learned to value freedom, democracy, the rights of man, progress and development. He looked to Europe and above all France as ideals to be followed.

Every evening inside his large and spacious residence or on its terrace one could count as many as forty narguilehs bubbling and fuming away, for neighbors and friends would all come to visit the Beg. American cigarettes were not yet available and those who wanted to smoke cigarettes rolled them themselves. Two or three earthenware bowls stood filled with good-quality tobacco shredded fine, with at hand cigarette papers brought from Damascus. Coffee, tea, and candies were served in abundance for, as the Lebanese saying goes, If you love your neighbor offer him food and all you have. Ayoub Beg had much to offer but above all he opened his heart to all. People came from all around Byblos, walked distances of as much as three miles, to pass an evening at the house of the Beg and to hear the latest gossip and then to finally go home again on foot. What excellent exercise, walking under the stars at night!

One presence that was not to be ignored from 186i onwards was the little boy fast growing up named Joachim, Wakeem, the son of Ibrahim and nephew of Ayoub, made a fuss of by everybody and considered the true heir of the property and all that went with it.

Heir of the family name and what went with it? A biblical heritage in truth! All the estate, one village more or less, that was not what mattered. It was the name of the Beg that counted. The heir was now there, Joachim – Yoakeem – Wakeem, a true Lebanese.

Wakeem grew up surrounded by all this splendor, unrivalled during this period when people put up with what Nature and the Good God served them with.

Demand for novelties, waste, hard-heartedness, and indifference were not to be found. Souls enjoyed interior peace, there was faith in God in every community and humanity in personal relations such as had once existed in the monasteries of Europe. Each served his neighborhood as best he could. There were friendly exchanges between all parties, while both mosques and churches were filled with their faithful on their respective days of prayer.

Despite the sectarian upheaval of 1860 in the Shouf, at Jbeil-Byblos there was not a single skirmish. As a child of five or six, Wakeem went to the Sisters’ school either accompanied by a governess or riding a donkey led by the gardener. There were few schools between Byblos and Amsheet, so as he grew older the child had to go to the famous school of Aintoura founded by the Lazarist Fathers in 1834.

Wakeem grew up surrounded not only by the members of the household but also by his little friends with whom he played. Sometimes he would go for walks in different places around. When he and his playmates went down to the beach they would meet the fishermen or stop to watch the work on the diggings carried out under the successor of Renan.

The official examinations were organized under the eyes of the Ottoman authorities, even the university exams at the Jesuit University of Saint Joseph’s. The degree diplomas were delivered by the University of Lyon and others delivered in parallel by the Sublime Porte at Constantinople.

Wakeem passed much of his time observing the seasonal changes in Nature, for he was interested in everything, biology, music and history included. At the end of his secondary school studies he was due to go to St. Joseph’s University (USJ) or to the American University of Beirut (AUB), or to travel to Cairo, Constantinople or Europe for his higher studies. Finally registered with the USJ medical faculty of the Jesuit Fathers, he could not make the double journey between Byblos and Beirut every day. There was a piece of land near the present-day Martyrs’ Square which his uncle Ayoub had bought, but his uncle preferred to turn it into terraces producing good wheat and olives. However, he rented a house at Gemayzeh where the young Wakeem moved in with a small army of servants. Once every month the whole party made a short stay in Byblos, and this went on until the end of his studies. At the weekends and during the vacations, Wakeem toured the mountains in Kessrouan, the Metn, the Shouf, Batroun, the North, the South, and the Beqaa. He was with three other medical students, who formed the first promotion of the Faculty. As soon as he had graduated, Wakeem Beg Nakhleh, son of Ibrahim and nephew of Ayoub, was received everywhere with open arms, for their names were famous throughout the country and even in Palestine, Syria and Egypt.

For the inauguration of the Suez Canal by French Empress Eugénie, invitations were sent internationally around the world under the aegis of the Khedive. A great manifestation was prepared, to include among other events a performance of Verdi’s opera Aida. Ayoub Beg received an invitation, which is still carefully preserved in the family archives.

While still young Wakeem was fully aware of the national role being played by his family and he prepared himself to be up to the requirements of this heritage. In those days young men did not go out with girls as they do nowadays. If a young couple were attracted to one another, it was the man’s father or uncles who came to ask the hand of the future bride. Sometimes the diocesan bishop or the parish priest was charged with such a mission.

For his part, the young Doctor Wakeem had met a beautiful young noble lady, a sheikha, from the Bleibel family of notables in the Bikfaya region. To demand her hand, Ayoub Beg, then President of the Byblos town council, Wakeem’s father Ibrahim, the important personalities of Byblos with their wives, the parish priest, friends and relatives presented themselves at Bikfaya. Visits were exchanged, and then the young doctor was married. He settled with his bridein the area between Byblos and Amsheet, practicing medicine around Jbeil-Byblos. He did not merely practice his medical profession but truly lived it with his patients. This he did throughout his whole life for free. He treated and offered the medicines that he prescribed, paying for them himself. He cared for his patients with love. The Hypocratic Oath was his guiding light in his vision of life and his ambition was to outdo his uncle in charity and love of his neighbor.

To speak of Byblos was to speak of Wakeem Beg. His name went the rounds and young and old alike wanted to meet him and to know him, seeing in him the angel Raphael who guided Tobias. The monk who was Superior of the priory and required to see him for some urgent affair pretended to be ill in bed and warned the monks that his temperature had soared and that he felt himself at death’s door. Dr. Wakeem was called and arrived in haste, for he was fond of this monk, to find the little monastery in turmoil. The Superior told the other monks to leave him alone in his cell with Doctor Wakeem. Report of his illness and spread around and brought a large crowd into the corridors. Dr. Wakeem now learned the ruse of his monastic friend and they spent twenty minutes together discussing their business, after which the Superior appeared at the door of his cell alive and well, miraculously cured!

Legends both true and false were woven around the doctor’s reputation. He was a “super-doctor” with extraordinary powers, even where his dog and his horse were concerned. Only recently I heard a story about him told me by old people. it seems that once Dr. Wakeem was visiting a patient in Byblos and had left his horse tied up under a tree near the house. For some reason or other the mare was not properly attached by the bridle and being startled galloped off northwards in the direction of Amsheet. It was impossible to catch up with the animal or to master it. Having lost sight of the steed, people came to tell the doctor. He only smiled, called his gun-dog and whispered something in his ear. The hound rushed off after the mare and half an hour later was seen in the distance leading her by her reins back to its master. It was common for Wakeem Beg to give his coat or some money or some food to somebody hard up and to stay up the whole night watching over a patient’s bedside.

One is reminded that when a nobleman asked Ambroise Paré, the father of modern surgery, whether he didn’t treat kings with greater care than the poor, he answered that he treated the poor like kings. This was the answer of one who was private physician to at least five kings of France and whose example was followed by Dr. Wakeem.

Ayoub Beg, as chief of his region, was soon being helped by his nephew, to whom he sent anybody who was ill, for he himself was now President of the second most import town council in Lebanon. Under the Mutassaref rule, Lebanon began to have a simple infrastructure, with roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and municipal government. The first municipal council was formed at Deir al-Qamar, and following its success other councils were set up in places such as Byblos and Jounieh. Who other than Ayoub Beg was to be elected as President in Byblos? In 1878 he was chosen unanimously.

The Mutassarefate was a period of autonomy, that is to say a certain independence, within the Ottoman Empire. It provided an opportunity for Ayoub Beg to set about activating, programming, and introducing town planning into his dear Byblos. He had general support, was respected, and had no opposition. All the inhabitants cooperated for the good of the town.

During this time the charming and beautiful Hélène, wife of Dr. Wakeem, died following an accident, leaving her husband two children, Michel and Marie-Georges. The latter had a religious vocation and in due course joined the nuns of the Holy Family. Michel went to the Marist Brothers for his secondary school studies and then to the USJ for studies in medicine.

Two or three years passed after the bereavement and friends, relatives, notables, monks and people in general urged Wakeem Beg, loved by all for his selfless devotion, to remarry so as to have a wife to bring up the two children. The lucky girl, daughter of a Sheikh, was called Rose Hobaish.

When Ayoub died as President of the Town Council, after allowing eminent scholars to follow the excavations which revealed the glorious history of the illustrious city, it was inevitable that Dr. Wakeem should take over. He was elected President of the Town Council by unanimous vote and occupied this position until his death. The whole family enjoyed the entire confidence of the townspeople and the Doctor’s son Michel followed him as President for one session, but then retired to spend his time with his French wife between France, Africa and Beirut. Byblos had seen three generations of Nakhlehs heading its Council.

Under Dr. Wakeem, the town had flourished. He was administrator, father figure, doctor, scholar and animator, taking on responsibility for everything. He had decided to irrigate the coastal plain and the gardens of Byblos with water from the Adonis river, Nahr Ibrahim. In a short time he channeled a large volume of water to irrigate the plain from the river Nahr Ibrahim, including even Amsheet and indeed the whole region, so people could have water in their homes. A U-shaped siphon on the heights of the Adonis river (Nahr Ibrahim) made this possible. With water now flowing in Byblos in abundance, more employment and greater prosperity ensued.

Several streets were laid out between quarters in Byblos and the main road running between Beirut and Tripoli was made to pass through the center of the town. Dr. Wakeem promoted a campaign for public cleanliness and flowers, jasmine and vines were planted at the entrances to houses to make a more beautiful environment. A market was set up for the sale of agricultural products such as vegetables, fruit, cereals and milk, for in those days in order to sell in Beirut one had to pay a tax at the crossing to Beirut over the Beirut river as a form of excise or customs. To help those who were impoverished the doctor put aside an area near the church premises as a meeting-place; he offered land and a building for it to become one of the first welfare associations in Lebanon, one which has functioned down to the present day. At the present time this is supervised by the Office of Social Affairs, the Red Cross, and Caritas, providing help, medicines, food and clothes to those in need.

In the field of education the doctor encouraged the opening of schools, those of the Brothers, those of the nuns, and private schools. He encouraged young people to demand education, training, culture and knowledge. He encouraged scholars and artists. He made the first theater in Byblos, which was perhaps the first in Lebanon, where plays were performed, often translated from foreign languages, such as those of Molière. Sports, clubs, leisure activities, singing and music were all encouraged. Byblos became a true home to its inhabitants, now all of local origin.

Once or twice a week, on foot or on horseback, Wakeem Beg would make the rounds of Byblos, passing by all the streets and, gardens and groups of houses, inspecting the water canals, and visiting the schools, stores and workshops. Accompanied by members of the town council, he would insist everywhere on order and cleanliness, making remarks on what needed doing, a wall to be repaired, a leak to be seen to that was turning a path into mud, holes and broken pavements needing repair, trees that should be planted or clipped, rubbish that needed to be removed from the beach or the town square. He would not let children be put to work in shops during school hours, insisting that they should help their parents only at other times.

He would visit the sick and the elderly on a regular basis. He attended church services frequently and always Holy Mass on feast days. He demanded respect for traditions and customs in every district. He had a friendly feeling for the off-shore fishermen; when they hauled in a heavy catch and could not sell all their fish, Wakeem Beg would buy the excess in the baskets and charge the welfare center with distributing it among the needy.

As a man of learning and culture, the doctor would visit the excavations of Byblos, accompanied by the archeologists at present responsible, these being Jesuit Fathers between 1890 and 1922. It was his ambition to build a museum in Byblos where the artifacts dug up would be displayed. However, such a project did not depend on him alone for up to World War I there was the rule of the Ottoman Turks and the Mutassarefs, and after the war the French Mandate.

In the Great Residence of Wakeem Beg there was a large room with a suite attached that was cleaned out twice a year. This was when the Maronite Patriarch passed on his way in early summer to his summer residence of Diman and again at the end of summer when he returned to the patriarchal seat at Bkerke. This room was known as the Patriarch’s Hall, for the Patriarch made a stop at Byblos during his long and tiring journey in order both to rest and to see the sons of his community living between Amsheet and Byblos. No doubt he would make another halt at Batroun.

In the residence of Wakeem Beg there was also a chapel where His Beatitude could celebrate Holy Mass.

Now of course the trip between Bkerke and Diman is only a matter of less than one hour and a half. But formerly with old horse-drawn carriages one day was barely enough. I myself remember how when the Patriarch, robed from head to foot in patriarch colors, drove through any locality the whole population present there would rush out to cheer and greet him.

The house of Wakeem Beg seemed like the parish church, the only difference being that in the church people came to pray and attend Mass in the morning, whereas the residence of Dr. Wakeem was swarming with the people of Jbeil-Byblos from morning till night. There would be a man serving coffee. while another prepared narguilehs, helped by a “boy” who ensured the supply of charcoal embers. Other servants would take care of the refreshments with drinks, bread, fruit and candies. The house was humming with activity round the clock; the doors were never closed and any passer-by might drop in.

The children by the second marriage were unable to stand this hectic rhythm; once they had married they went their own way, for example following the fashion of emigrating to the Americas. One of them however had a certain noble spirit and prepared himself to carry on with the exceptional inheritance, one Georges, who unfortunately died young as the result of a stupid automobile accident. In this way a dynasty that had lasted almost a century was destined to die out and be forgotten. The only survivor now is the granddaughter of Wakeem Beg, Andrée Hélène, who possesses some of the archives of this illustrious house and has a nobility of heart and soul worthy of Wakeem Beg, with children making a name for themselves in many fields.

The archives are a precious mine of information for anyone investigating the history of Jbeil and of this outstanding family. Some archives are to be found in the Maronite Patriarchate and the Archbishopric, with the monks and in the diaries of certain literary figures such as Maroun Abboud, in fact with all those people in close relationship with the family. Further, for a short time still, there are the memories of people in their eighties and nineties.

During my walks and visits around Byblos over the last forty years I have met many elderly people who could recall facts about the Beg, whom they had known personally. Description factual or legendary formed a sort of halo of myth around this extraordinary doctor for whom no problem was insoluble. It was Doctor Wakeem who was one of a preliminary committee of three doctors who examined the sacred and well-preserved body of Father Sharbel Makhlouf who was afterwards canonized by the Universal Church.

At the time Dr. Wakeem admitted in private to his son Michel that when confronted with the holy body of the hermit Sharbel he had felt all the greatness of God. He was lost between the scientific rigor of a doctor and the divine power. He could say like Simon, “Now dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples to lighten the nations…”

At some time between 1910 and 1913 (the exact dates cam be fund at the monastery of Saint Maroun of Anaya) the then superior of St. Maroun’s, Father Yusuf Abu Younes of Ehmej, declared, “Three official doctors examined the body of holy Sharbel during my mandate, Dr. Joachim Beg Nakhleh of Byblos, Dr. Najeeb el-Khoury of Ehmej, and Dr. Georges Shukrallah, none of whom could explain this miraculous phenomenon scientifically.” When Dr. Joachim (Wakeem) was asked to draw up a report about the body, the first idea that came to him was that he was called to sound a simple corps as was usual. His driver took him in his car from Byblos to Anaya and the monastery of St. Maroun, where there was the vault with the bodies of deceased monks. He was accompanied by the Superior of the church premises in Byblos and by two seminarians. On the road they chatted about ordinary matters, not knowing what awaited them at Anaya.

The road up was narrow and in a very bad state. Dr. Wakeem told his son Michel that they had barely caught sight of the monastery when something strange occurred. They were plunged into a light which embraced everything they saw, people, trees, houses and hills. Everything was transformed into a luminous flux. He touched his arms, hands, and head to make sure that he was not dreaming or sleep-walking. The voices of his companions faded into celestial music such as he had never heard before. He was sure that he had lived through a miracle, he who believed in repentance, pardon, the love of Christ for his children, and the miracles, as his uncle and his father had done. He made a sign of the cross and called on the Holy Virgin to help him in the coming minutes.

The car stopped by the door of the monastery, where the monks awaited the doctor. He got out of the car and went towards the church. He later said to Michel, “I no longer felt my feet, and I seemed to be sliding on a moving carpet.” In the church he knelt down and prayed. He could no more control himself, until he felt a hand shaking him and heard a voice ordering, “Wakeem, get up and go to the vault, I am waiting for you there.” He pulled himself together and saw around him ordinary people, the Superior, the Brothers, his driver, and curious bystanders.

On a table in a corridor in front of Sharbel’s tomb, he saw a body laid out and covered with a cassock. He stopped in front of the holy monk’s remains in a state of ecstasy, saying, “It is you Reverend Father and Saint who should be examining me and dissecting my soul, I am only a poor sinner in front of your holiness.”

He regarded the face of the monk Sharbel, then his eyes, neck, and shoulders. Living with the Father in eternity, the holy man seemed in his body more alive than the others on earth. But the doctor had been called to examine the body and to write a report. He touched the breast and found the body warm and sweating. He felt the feet and the hair and again had the impression of the most fully alive being that he had ever examined. The phenomenon was unique, divine, manifesting the power of God.

Dr. Wakeem questioned the monks, wishing to learn everything about Sharbel’s life. This, he said, was the most extraordinary day of his existence. Should he make a human report for the accession of this monk to the realm of the saints? This visit was to be followed by others. Wakeem Beg prayed to holy Sharbel, considering him to be his tutor and guardian angel. Sharbel became his obsession and his passion even entering into his medical practice. In certain desperate cases he advised his patients to pray to holy Sharbel, who had healing powers greater than those of Dr. Wakeem himself (Michel took this from the recollections of his father.)

Wakeem Beg, the warm-hearted doctor, finally knew that his own life was drawing to a close, for he was suffering from an incurable tumor. At that time cancer treatment was surgical and purely empirical and chemotherapy and cobalt treatment did not yet exist. For a second time catastrophe was to affect the family. Rose, his second wife, had already passed away after a grave illness, leaving four sons and several daughters. A mother is always a mother and can never be replaced by governesses or servants. It was a hard blow for Wakeem Beg. He wanted to give his daughters the best education possible, so he confided them to the care of the nuns.

He drew up his last will and testament, leaving all his property to his son Michel, allowing him full freedom of action and telling him to consider himself as the father of the other children. He left the Sisters a large sum and some property for the education of his children, whom they were to care for until their adulthood and marriage. In fact Michel was more than a father. He confided to me that his wife, very rich and of French noble family, also contributed all her fortune for the weddings of the Beg’s daughters, for their trousseaux, their jewels, their houses, and their travels. Michel deprived himself of much in order to help his brothers and sisters and to provide the latter with dowries. As for the property inherited, all was at the free disposition of Michel according to the testament. For each of his sisters there was a fabulous sum of two hundred pieces of gold.

Formerly in Lebanon Islamic law was applied even to Christians. A son inherited twice the sum inherited by a daughter, which was unfair. Daughters could not receive estate, which all passed to the sons. These laws were changed for Christians during the nineteen-fifties to be modeled on western standards, with sons and daughters being treated equally.

Michel Beg, eldest son of Dr. Wakeem, told me that he and his wife treated his brothers and sisters like their own children… In his father’s house, in which there had always been such bustle, Michel calmed down the exhausting rhythm of daily existence. Being obliged to travel to France in 1931-1932, he feared that there might be theft, so he entrusted archives, documents, fine carpets, silverware and gold to the safekeeping of the “religious” friends of Dr. Wakeem in the hope of retrieving them on his return, but this hope proved vain! I was able to help Michel reconstitute a small part of the archives which were in two copies. Michel Beg told me that he had once possessed at least six letters from Ernest Renan that now had evaporated. It so happened that he had given a cigar case to his granddaughter Marina to throw away. She opened it out of curiosity and found inside a piece of written paper. He showed me the paper, which was the unique document of Ernest Renan that the family now possessed. Archives, documents, carpets, crystal ware, all were best forgotten. After forty years I have been able to find some of the documents and souvenirs and now keep them secret so as not to hurt anybody’s reputation.

There is another fact worthy of a novel that I shall sum up in a few lines. The daughters of Wakeem Beg were accepted in the highest society. Seeing that the Beg’s daughters were beautiful, educated and rich, and had class, a certain religious superior (whose name I will not mention) had the idea of getting them to marry his two nephews. He set the two daughters against their brother, urging them on in a lawsuit to invalidate the will of Dr. Wakeem although they were living under the same roof as their brother Michel. When their lawyer asked for their address, he was astounded to see that it was the same as their brother’s. He said, “But this is the address of your brother Michel! Is it possible that you should be bringing a lawsuit against your brother who houses you, looks after you and loves you?”

Michel Beg had a great warm heart and was as generous as his father. He proved his disinterestedness concerning all the property and acted as if his sisters were his own children, considering the will as null and void. Naturally, the daughters of the Beg, who had suitors well placed in life, eminent magistrates and rich businessmen, were not interested in the plans of the monk to hook them up with his rustic nephews and the affair was closed, not however without leaving a painful scar.

The story is told of how a young peasant from Tannureen named Saïd, a hard worker, lithe, devoted, with no other trade than farm-work and building rough stone walls, asked to be employed by the Beg as a stable-boy, that is to say caring for the stables and the horses, cleaning and sweeping out, and brushing down and feeding the animals.

For his part the Beg found that this strong, keen young man was thoroughly suitable for the job and very agreeable and so took him on. Subsequently, he was satisfied with the way the lad worked, for he was always available around the house and kept the stables always clean, while the 0horses had taken to him. In fact the Beg became quite proud of Saïd.

Three years had passed in this way when Saïd came to tell the Doctor that he was thinking of emigrating to America where he had a close relative, whether in North or to Latin South America there is no means now of knowing. With tears in his eyes he came to ask the consent and blessing of Doctor Wakeem. The latter answered him, “Son Saïd, I am very fond of you and it hurts me to be separated from you; may God and the Holy Virgin be with you and protect your.”

Another servant replaced the young man. Some fourteen years rolled by and Saïd had been forgotten, when there came a knocking at the door of Doctor Wakeem’s large and luxurious residence and a young man about thirty-five years old appeared, tall, slender, well-built, with a wide forehead, large eyes, a long neck, and a rather stern expression. As soon as the Beg cast his eyes upon him he recognized him as Saïd, now smartly dressed in the American fashion, with gold chains and medals and a fine watch.

The Doctor received him with open arms, happy to behold him again, while the visitor threw himself on Doctor Wakeem, kissing his hands and weeping and choking with emotion. All those present hurried up and pressed round Saïd, welcoming him warmly. He told them how he had become a wealthy businessman and merchant and how Providence had smiled on him. The Beg invited him to lunch and made him feel at home.

Saïd gave the Doctor to understand that he would come again later and in fact did so after two weeks had passed. Here we point out that the Beg had a large family, with seven daughters and five sons. Successful and wealthy Lebanese emigrants would return on a visit to Lebanon from America in order to get married and so would visit important personalities to find a suitable partner.
During their conversation Saïd let the Doctor know that he had come back in order to find a bride and would like to find one among the Doctor’s daughters. He declared that he was wealthy and that he would put his fortune at the disposition of his future spouse, who would be able to cover with gold the whole residence of her father.

Not wishing to hurt the feelings of Saïd, not being a racist, and not attaching any importance to differences of social class, Doctor Wakeem let Saïd understand that it could only be his daughters who would make up their minds and decide on their marriage. “Even if you have all the wealth on earth, that will make no difference. You yourself, dear Saïd, can speak to any one of them, and I will raise no objection.”
This however was what Saïd failed to do. Did his courage fail him? Did he want a go-between? Did he feel that he was still the stable-lad, the servant, which he had once been? What did he feel, he who had always looked on the daughters of the Beg as princesses far above him? Did he correctly understand the meaning of the Doctor’s not wishing to raise any obstacle or to go against his daughters’ wishes? Saïd did not grasp all that and left never to return.

Doctor Wakeem was convinced that a prince and a simple servant had the same rights and, in short, got one of his associates to obtain some news about Saïd. In this way he learned that the fellow was going to marry an attractive young girl from Tannureen st the church of Saint John-Mark in Byblos the following Saturday. The Beg gave Saïd a big surprise; after entering the church unperceived, at the end of the marriage ceremony, he suddenly appeared to congratulate the bridegroom. Even now, many such stories are told about the Beg and his family.

Wakeem Beg, possessed of this spiritual force that had penetrated him when on his knees before the coffin and the remains of Father Sharbel, lived in the hope of joining his uncle Ayoub, his father Ibrahim, and his two wives in the Paradise where they awaited him. He no longer went his rounds to visit his patients for now they came themselves to his consulting rooms. Every morning he attended Mass in his private chapel joined by his neighbors and others of the faithful.

He wished to be kept informed about all the latest discoveries in the excavations. He still wished to make an archeological museum where the artifacts could be seen in Byblos itself close to where they had been disinterred. “It is our history,” he said, “and our souvenirs.”

Council meetings were held in his house during which he had no opposition. He was given a free hand, for all were aware of his love for his city and for its people and of the personal sacrifices he had made for the good of others.
Doctor Wakeem’s first visit to Anaya marked a turning-point in his life, separating past and future. From then on, all was seen in a different light. He would have loved to serve under the orders of Mar Sharbel. He for ever sought information to know more about the holy hermit’s life, including the miracles that had taken place while he was still alive.

Wakeem, doctor and university graduate, was greatly interested in the history of both Lebanon and France. He dreamed of the day when the Lebanese would get back their independence and be no longer submitted to the Ottomans. He was one of the first Orientals to receive academic awards for his research and investigations in many fields, medical, cultural and social, as well as for his home urban and regional activities. All these received recognition in particular from the government of France, which in 1909 gave him the academic grade of Officer. In fact he had encouraged creativity in the theater, in the crafts and in agriculture, where he showed particular concern for irrigation and water canals. The problems of the fishermen were never far from him.

Still, he knew that his days were numbered, as he admitted to his son Michel. He was aware that he suffered from a tumor in the liver and that the treatment he gave himself was not truly effective. His condition was growing worse and only a miracle would save him. He knew that the inheritance that he was leaving would be a heavy burden for his son Michel, who had not been prepared for this kind of life and activity.

There are in this world people who live a long life but pass unnoticed, while others pass like comets and leave an unforgettable mark despite a simple and humble life, during which however they have done good, being wise and warm-hearted. Dr. Wakeem was one of those. He achieved what neither the State nor the political parties nor associations could achieve, but only one with a universal vision. As far as values were concerned, he was a noble character, a part of his family tradition. Because of the indifference of the existing authorities, he took full responsibility for the patrimony and the archeological remains, whishing to show the historic importance of Byblos particularly after the research undertaken by Ernest Renan. The only letter of Renan found in the family archives says as follows:

Djèbel, 6th February 1861

During the whole period of the scientific mission that I carried out at Djèbel in the name of His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III, I constantly had reason to praise the family of Ayoub Nakhleh, his brothers and his cousins. I recommend to all those who can that they should in the name of France render them service. E. Renan, member of the Institute. (Original in French)

Dr. Wakeem practiced medicine as a humanitarian mission, concerned only with the wellbeing of his patients as if they were members of his own family. His generosity was legendary and stories about him continued to circulate even after his death. The scholars and the poets of the time spoke loudly of his deeds.

The notables of the region, the sheikhs, the priests, and the various authorities and administrators bore witness to this exemplary man who spent twenty-five years administering the St. Michael hospital in Amsheet and was life-long President of the Byblos town council. Even in the other towns and villages of the region he was considered the “pole star of the North” – the ideal doctor in people’s minds everywhere was Wakeem Beg.

Formerly the Municipality was not just an administration; it was the totality of the townspeople who were devoted to one another and helped each other for the good of their city. Dr. Wakeem was of a democratic turn of mind, not discriminating between the townsfolk with their different duties, leaving them freedom to think, decide and act.

The name of Wakeem Nakhleh was bound up with that of Byblos and its children. In the minds of the elders the nostalgia is still strong. Administering Byblos, the cradle of the alphabet and one of the world’s most ancient cities, meant grave responsibilities and Dr, Wakeem was up to the task. He set up the “townhouse”, which was to be that of the people of Jbeil, their “serail” and their municipality.

According to Maroun Abboud his house became the home of intellectual life in Byblos, the meeting-place of poets and authors. He set aside one of the rooms for the performance of plays, ceremonies, talks and suchlike activities and at his request the school of the Marist Brothers was founded in Byblos from their main house in Amsheet.

While still young the doctor knew that his end was approaching and that he would before long have to stand before his Lord and Creator. As Michel told us, deep inside himself he felt the need to be united with Christ and the Holy Virgin… He envied Saint Sharbel who had rendered his soul to God on Christmas Eve and wanted himself to stand before the Holy Trinity on a Saturday, a day dedicated to Our Lady, or on one of her feast days such as the Annunciation or the Assumption. He spent whole nights meditating and praying. As his condition worsened he became completely bed-ridden and lay facing the icon of the Virgin, awaiting his last hour.

He was not a witness of the First World War. In February of 1913 his end drew near until it was a question of only a few hours. On February 9th, the feast of Saint Maroun, the superior of the priory gave him Holy Communion in his bed in his home. On February 11th, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the end finally came. But he knew that his son Michel would act as a good father and that the nuns and the monks would take care of the education of his children. He died when barely 52 years old.

It was his son Michel who with great regret took over from him. He was now in 1914 a young doctor. The Ottomans put obstacles in the way of all the active elements, in particular the medical doctors, whom they sent to the fighting fronts. Michel refused to serve his country’s occupiers and enemies and fled to Egypt and then to the Belgian Congo, where he entered into business. He often went to Belgium and France for his vacations. Once when leaving the church in France he met the one who was to be his life’s companion. He then went to Malmaison Street where he was to deliver a gift to be passed on to his cousin, an ivory horn from the Belgian Congo. What was his surprise when the person who opened the door after he rang turned out to be the young lady whom he had met at the church! He learned later that this lady used to come and visit the relative of his friend to help her as a kindness, for she lived alone. In this way the couple came to know each other and were married soon after.

The war was over and in 1923 Michel with his wife Andrée-Jeanne returned to Lebanon, where at Byblos they were received with joy. He became head of the municipality, being the third generation to fill this post. The young Beg was popular as his father had been, but after a few years his health declined and he could not continue to work at the same rate. He withdrew with his wife and their only daughter to live in the capital Beirut. From time to time he visited his beloved Byblos and often traveled between Africa, France and Lebanon.

He left his father’s residence to one of his brothers and the business of the town council to another. He preferred to remove himself from the political stage rather than be only half present. But he continued to be a man with a great heart and a great patriot, having relations with all the presidents and notables. He gave much service and help in his milieu as he wished to keep up the fine traditions of his illustrious family.

At the beginning of the events that often left us crouching in our cellars, Michel Beg would often open his heart to me in private and speak of his dearest wishes. He begged me to do all I could so his sisters would not sell the most ancient church in Byblos, the Saint Denis church of the Nakhleh family in whose vault lay buried Wakeem, Ibrahim, Ayoub and later Michel himself. Thank God I have been able to conserve this church for the benefit of all. It was a masterstroke. It is said that fathers labor to build up a fortune and that the sons throw it recklessly away.

Now this three-generation dynasty which lasted almost one hundred years from 1830 to the Second World War passes into oblivion. There are no longer any Nakhlehs at Byblos, for all have gone abroad and emigrated to Europe or the two Americas. The sole heir of this glorious empire is the daughter of Michel, who cares for what remains of the property in the form of churches, estate and archives.

It is possible to read the history of this great people and of the country of Lebanon through the events in the Nakhleh family and the remnants of their house.

Joseph Matar
All rights reserved © LebanonArt
Adapted from the French by Kenneth Mortimer